Fifth-wheel.



G. WALLACE.

FIFTH WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15, 1909.

1,079,277, Patented Nov. 18,1913.

27 j/i I 72..

an 'uamtom CRISTOPI-IER WALLACE, OF IRONDALE, MISSOURI.

FIFTH-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 18, 1913.

Application filed July 15, 1909. Serial No. 507,756.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CnIsTorHnR WALLACE, a citizen of the United States. residing at lrondale, in the county of lVashington and State of Missouri, hare invented a new and useful F ifth-lvheel, of which the following is a specification.

This i v-ention relates to carriages and wagons, and more especially to fifth wheels; and the object of the same is so to construct and connect the parts related to the fifth wheel and king bolt as to cause them to possess strength and accessibility and at the same time to render them removable on occasions when necessity requires and with the least interrlqjition or disconnection of other parts that is possible to permit such removal while retaining the strength of the entire structure. To this end the invention consists in the details set forth below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a plan view of the device with portions broken away, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of my improved clamp plates.

This invention comprises in its organization the axle A, bolster B, circle plates G,

spring S, and reach B which are all of the usual or any well known form, the reach being here shown as bifurcated and the front ends of its members connected with the bolster by a fork F, and the whole structure braced by upper and lower braces U and L. All of these will now be described in detail.

The axle A comprises the usual upper and lower members 1 and 2 of wood and iron, the uppermost being recessed as at 3, Fig. 2. The spring S comprises a number of leaves 6 superimposed upon and connected with each other by the usual bolt 5. The bolster B has by preference a wooden body 10 recessed in its lower edge as at 13 for one of my improved clamp plates best seen in Fig. 3. Said clamp plate comprises a rather long body 20 having T-heads 21 across its ends provided in their outer extremities with eyes 22, and projecting forward from the center of the plate is a lug 23 pierced with a. large eye or hole 24 standing entirely out of aline ment with the body. One of these plates is disposed within the recess 13 of the bolster B, and bolts 27 lead upward through the eyes 22 in front and rear of the bolster and spring, and through clip plates 25 across the top of the latter, their nuts 26 being on top of these plates and within easy reach. Another of said clamp plates 20 is disposed within the recess 3 in the upper member of the axle, and still another plate directly beneath the lower member 2 of the axle, and the bolts 2? connecting these plates have their nuts 28 at the bottom where they can readily be reached from beneath. Thus it will be seen that, without perforating the axle, bolster, or spring, the three clamp plates are attached thereto with their three large eyes 2% in vertical alinement for the reception of the king bolt. The reach R is here shown as bifurcated and the contiguous parts as shaped to conform therewith, although it will be understood that they are susceptible of modification without necessitating a departure from the spirit of my invention.

The fork F employed with a bifurcated reach comprises two arms 30 channeled as at 31 for the two bars 32 of the reach, which bars are bolted to the arms as at 33 and 34, and at their front ends the arms converge into a head 35 which is bent upwardly and bolted a at 36 to the rear of the bolster B. If the reach had but. one bar there would be but one channel. The circle plates C consti-tuting the fifth wheel proper are rings 40 and 41 lying one upon the other and disposed between the bolster and axle. The uppermost ring are is held beneath the bolster by bolts 42 whose heads 42* are countersunk as seen in Fig. 2. The lowermost ring is held upon the axle by bolts 43 not shown in the usual manner.

The upper and lower braces U and L, consist of strap iron of about the formation shown, the uppermost extending from a fork 50 whose arms are bolted at 51 upon the arms 30, over and out of contact with the circle plates C, to and over the spring S as at 52 (and under the nut of the bolt 5 if one be here employed). thence longitudinally forward and over the upper ring 40 as at 53, and across the top of a spacing block 54. In like manner the lower brace starts at the rear in a fork through the arms of which the bolts 51 may pass, and extends thence downward beneath the head 35 and forward entirely beneath and out of contact with theclamp plate below the axle, and thence upward under the lower ring 41 and below the spacing block 54, a bolt extending through the front ends of both braces and the spacing block as best seen in Fig. 2, serving to hold the parts assembled. The king bolt 70 passes downward through a hole in the flat portion 52 of the upper brace, along the front faces of the spring and bolster, through the three alined eyes 24 in the clamp plates, and finally through the fiat portion of the lower brace, its head 71 being at the top and resting on the upper brace, while it by preference carries two nuts 7 2 at its lower end disposed on either side of the lower brace, with washers 7 3 interposed between the upper nut and the lowermost clamp plate.

What is claimed is:

The combination with the spring, the bolster, a plate clipped beneath the latter and having a forwardly projecting lug, the axle, plates clipped above and beneath the axle and having lugs alined with that in the first named plate, the lower fifth wheel member clipped upon the axle, and the upper fifth wheel member secured beneath the bolster whereby the adjacent plates on the bolster and axle are held out of contact; of the reach connected with the bolster, an upper brace leading from the reach over the spring to the front of the upper fifth wheel member, a bolt securing it thereto with its head countersunk in the member, a lower brace leading from the reach beneath the axle and beneath the front end of the upper brace, a spacing block secured between the end of the upper brace, a spacing block secured between the front ends of said braces, a bolt passing through the projecting ends of the braces and blocks and holding the fifth wheel members in contact, and a king bolt passing through the upper brace, the alined lugs, and the lower brace and standing against the front faces of the spring, bolster and axle.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, ture in the presence of two witnesses.

. CRIS. WALLACE.

Witnesses:

J. B. ROBINSON, WM. M. SAGO.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Iatents,

Washington, D. C.

front I have hereto affixed my signa-r I 

